"Giant babies" by Stephen M. Miller Bible blog of award-winning bestselling Christian author, Stephen M. Miller. for Saturday, 13 February 2016
"Giant babies" by Stephen M. Miller
Mysterious “sons of God” (one theory: fallen angels) married gorgeous human women. Their children were called Nephilim, later reported in the Bible as a race of giants who made Joshua and his fellow scouts feel “as small as grasshoppers” (Numbers 13:33CEV). A Visual Walk Through Genesis, pages 50-51.
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"What to do with a good wife" by Stephen M. Miller Bible blog of award-winning bestselling Christian author, Stephen M. Miller. for Thursday, 11 February 2016"What to do with a good wife" by Stephen M. Miller
CIRCA 1960 REINACTMENT. The Bible describes a wife worth her weight in a bag of pearls. She's not necessarily good looking. Photo by Garry Knight, flickr, CC 2.0.FOR VALENTINE’S DAY, I’ve been thinking about how lucky I am to have married the lady I did. I dodged a few bullets, let me tell you.
In Bible times, the mother of a king named Lemuel told her son what to look for in a woman.
It wasn’t a curvy figure or charm.
If you’re a single guy looking for lady, pay attention. This advice was good enough for a king, so it’s probably good enough for you.
If you’re a lady, find yourself in here. You can do it.
The wife
31:10. Who on earth can find a good wife?
She’s as rare as a bag of jewels, and worth even more.
31:11. Her lucky husband can trust her with everything
because she’s got his back and that’s all he needs.
31:12. She brightens his day every day of his life. Trouble doesn’t stand a chance.
31:13. Somehow she manages to find the wool and flax she needs, and she spins it with a smile.
31:14. She’s like a fleet of cargo ships importing gourmet food from abroad.
31:15. She gets up so early that it’s still dark outside.
She does it to make breakfast. She even makes extra for the babysitter and anyone else around at breakfast time.
31:16. Would you believe it, she even uses her mad money to buy a plug of ground so she can plant a garden.
31:17. She works hard,
and the muscles in her arms show it.
31:18. She knows when she’s had a good day,
but she doesn’t quit when it gets dark. The lights stay on.
31:19. She goes back to the chore of spinning thread.
31:20. She keeps her eyes open for people in need,
and she gives them a helping hand.
31:21. When the cold winter blows, no big deal.
Her family is warm in the clothes she made.
31:22. She makes her own quilts, too,
and dresses herself in the fine linen she deserves.
31:23. Movers and shakers in the city know her husband well.
31:24. In her spare time she makes clothes to sell.
Retailers buy them and sell them again.
31:25. She’s a strong woman, dignified and confident.
31:26. Her advice is wise and her teaching style is gentle.
31:27. She’s on top of everything needed to keep the family running.
There’s not a lazy bone in her body.
31:28. Her children brag about her
and so does her husband. He tells her,
31:29. “There are some wonderful women out there, my dear, but you take the cake.”
31:30. A woman can fake charm and lose her beauty to gravity,
but a woman who loves God is a woman worth loving.
31:31. Give her everything she has worked so hard for.
And tell everyone how lucky it is that a bum like you won a prize like her.[Steve’s paraphrase: Casual English Bible TM]
For more about wives
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"Jesus for Jews at Christmas" by Stephen M. Miller Bible blog of award-winning bestselling Christian author, Stephen M. Miller. for Thursday, 4 February 2016"Jesus for Jews at Christmas" by Stephen M. Miller
GOOD NEWS FOR JEWS. A rabbi reads the Jewish Bible, which Christians call the Old Testament. It comes as a surprise for some, but when the angel told the shepherds he had good news for all people, he meant all Jews.LUKE DISAPPOINTED ME. Yeah, I’m talking about the Gospel of Luke.
Lately, I’ve been reading it more carefully than I have in a long time.
I hit a news flash. I discovered that a lot of well-respected Bible experts say that the angel wasn’t talking about me when he told the shepherds he had Good News for “all people” (Luke 2:10).
I’m not included in “all people.”
Neither are you, unless you’re Jewish.
Here’s what the angel said.
“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2:10-11).
Bible experts say that when Luke wrote the word that is translated “all people,” he used a Greek term that we associate with a Southeast Asian country: laos. It means “people.”
Which is a cool name for a country. People.
But scholars say that whenever Luke uses that word, he’s talking about Jewish people.
Luke set that Jewish context early on in the book he wrote, when he reported Zechariah’s happy song after little John the Baptist got born.
“The God of Israel… redeemed his people. He has sent us a mighty Savior… remembering his sacred covenant – the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham” (Luke 1:68-73).
There’s not a lot of Gentile going on there. Just a lot of Jew.
That surprised me. It bothered me, too. Now, every time I hear the Christmas story, I’m going to remember that the angel was talking to Jews about Jews.
But then, Jesus was a Jew. All of his disciples were Jews. The first members of the Jesus Movement initially called “The Way” and later called “Christianity” were Jews.
Christianity had to start somewhere I guess.
In time, the Jesus Movement grew to include non-Jews. In fact, the man traditionally credited with writing the Gospel of Luke was not a Jew. He was a physician who traveled in the apostle Paul’s entourage.
In the beginning of Luke’s story, I may not have been there. But I’m there now.
So – I hope with Luke’s blessing – I’m going to go ahead and read myself into “all people,” just like I did before I knew any better.
Christmas may have started with Jews.
But somewhere along the way the rest of us got invited to the party:
“Go and make disciples of all nations.”[Jesus to his Jewish disciples, Matthew 28:19]
Check.
For more about Jesus
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